NEW DELHI/BEIJING: China has suggested a maritime dialogue with India covering two ‘silk roads’ for cooperation among South Asian nations to improve connectivity, trade and to keep the sea lanes safe.
The idea inviting India to join the Martime Silk Road was mooted at the talks between the special representatives of the two countries Shiv Shankar Menon and Yang Jeichi in Delhi earlier this week.
China’s Special Representative Yang Jiechi has conveyed Beijing’s wish in this regard to his Indian counterpart Shivshankar Menon, a Chinese official told PTI here.
India’s response was positive, the official added.
Sources in Delhi said “we have just decided. When we will sit across the table we will discuss the maritime policy.”
Sri Lanka has already conveyed its willingness to back the initiative to build MSR during the just concluded visit of its Foreign Minister G L Peiris here.
Elaborating on the MSR, she said it was still an idea in making.
“This initiative is just an idea for cooperation. It is an open ended platform. The purpose is to integrate all kinds of ongoing cooperation especially cooperation on connectivity in the spirit of (ancient) silk road so that they can connect with each other and promote each other and accelerate regional countries’ common development,” Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Hua Chunying told media in Beijing yesterday.
“In this end China adopts an open attitude. We also hope to see good suggestions from other countries so as to substantiate this idea,” she said.
The MSR was mooted last year with countries of Southeast Asia by President Xi Jinping during his visit to Indonesia and Malaysia where he stated that the MSR would help turn the “Golden Decade” between China and Southeast Asian Countries into “Diamond Decade”.
Simultaneously, China also worked to revive the ancient Silk Route which existed 2,000 years to with a host of Central Asian states.
Besides MSR, China has proposed the Bangladesh, China, India and Myanmar (BCIM) corridor to improve trade and businesses among all the four countries. Sources said China has just proposed the maritime dialogue and it would discuss it across the table at an appropriate time. Sri Lanka is also involved in the exercise.
“This will be a new dialogue. We don’t have any dates,” the sources said.
On the boundary question, the talks between the SRs were friendly and warm. Out of seven hours of discussion, two-and-a-half hours was devoted to border and boundary settlement. The Chinese side has also suggested a code of conduct between the two armies on the border.
Referring to the border defense cooperation agreement reached with China during Prime Minister’s visit in September, sources said the two countries were trying to sort out differences on the border which are already narrowing down.
Maintaining peace and tranquility on the border was of foremost importance, they said.
As part of the defense dialogue, a delegation headed by Chief of Army staff from China is arriving here on February 24 for defense exchanges.
Japan was also discussed between the two countries. China briefed India on its differences with Japan and said there was nothing to worry about.
They also took note of the India-Japan joint statement issued during Japanese Prime Minister Abe’s visit last month to India.–PTI
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